London Calling by Edward Bloor

Martin hates the private school he is attending. Henry Lowery and his gang are bullying him, but school officials won't help because Henry's family donates much-needed money to the school. When a bullying incident leads to a statue of Henry's great-grandfather, World War 2 hero General "Hollerin' Hank" Lowery, being damaged, Martin and his friends are unfairly blamed. Depressed, Martin retreats to his basement bedroom feeling that his life has no purpose, but when he inherits a 1940's radio from his grandmother his , perspective begins to change.

As he is drifting off to sleep one night, he hears the voice of a little boy over the radio, and suddenly he finds himself in London England during the blitz. Jimmy needs his help but for what?

This is a marvelous book on many. It gives young readers a gripping glimpse of a period in London's history where every moment of life to mattered because it was so precarious. It provides reflection on the nature of history - who determines how it will be seen by future generations. And it is shows a boy learning to determine his own path in life rather one that has been determined by others. Oh yes - and all written beautifully

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

A plane mysteriously appears on a tarmac. Inside the plane, there is no pilot, no crew, no adults. However, there are 36 babies strapped into the seats and after the last baby is removed, the plane vanishes as mysteriously as it appears.

Thirteen years later, Jonah and his new friend Chip, both of them adoptees, begin to receive odd and threatening notes in the mail. When they start to investigate, with the help of Jonah's sister, Katherine, the FBI tries to discourage them with threats such as deportation. Next, strangers offering help appear and disappear mysteriously but are friends or enemies? Jonah, Chip, and Katherine scramble to find out what is happening, and, more important, to discover the true identity of the boys.

This one pulls in readers right from the start and with a cliffhanger ending, has them looking forward to the next installment.

First in a series

The 13th Floor by Sid Fleishman
In attempting to find his sister Liz, who has disappeared, Buddy steps off the elevator onto the 13th floor of the old building and finds himself 300 years in the past on a pirate ship. And it just happens to be a ship belonging to an infamous ancestor, Captain Crackstone who according to family history was hanged for piracy. When the ship is set upon by other pirates in search of treasure, Buddy and the captain are set adrift in a small boat. Fortunately, they are washed ashore in New England, but only to face new problems. Another of Buddy's ancestors, 10-year-old Abigail, is being charged with witchcraft and Buddy's sister Liz, who happens to be a lawyer is defending her. Unfortunately, Liz is a little too modern and ends up under suspicion of witchcraft herself. Somehow, they need to save Abigail, save Captain Crackstone, and get themselves home, preferably with some of the Captain's treasure.
There's lots of action in this fast-paced story, but it's all kept pretty light-hearted with Fleishman managing to sucessfully juggle all these sub-stories and neatly wrap everything up in a little over 200 pages.